Do you know Toogood ?

• Print the story of Toogood

A long time ago, in Scotland reined a little king. Toogood was very young, red-haired and covered in freckles. He had inherited his uncle’s kingdom, the fearsome Mc Gregor Crust. That man was like the Scottish climate. Harsh, grim-looking and stormy.

Life under his reign was very tough, without pleasure or gentleness. He put his subjects on an austere diet made of soup and a kind of pancake, tough as wood! He disappeared on a stormy night, swallowed up by the night after having left the fortress to brave the infuriated elements. No one ever saw him again. The truth is no one, at the castle, regretted him.

Toogood, despite his young age, came to the throne. At the castle, everyone loved him for his cheerfulness, his goodness and his pleasantness. He put all his heart to bringing joy inside his cold, tall walls. Yet, once in a while, a veil of sadness crossed the face of the little King. Oh, almost nothing, just a small shadow…

The truth is, up there in the far north of Scotland, there were very few opportunities to party, to laugh and even less to meet new friends.

When he felt sad, Sire Toogood took refuge in the kitchen. There, in the very middle of pots and pans, he learned about the art of pastry-making. Miss Amelia Greedies taught him everything she knew. Very soon, thin pastries, toppings, icings, creams and fillings held no secrets for him. Only, there were very few people to try his cakes.

“I want every child in the world to try my cakes” Toogood exclaimed one morning. “They too want to party, to laugh and to eat cakes made especially for them”. Straight away, sir Toogood started working. He made a light sponge cake to preserve the delicacy, and then filled it with chocolate cream, vanilla or jam prepared by Amelia Greedies. “Excellent” he said, “that’s some cake for children, for the kings of the party!”

Now he needed to take care of the decorations, decorations are crucial for a party cake. “Stars? Banal. Stripes ? ordinary, dots ? spots ? Nothing works”, said the little King. And no one in this kitchen dared to make a suggestion. Disappointed, he laid down his crown thinking how hard the life of a monarch sometimes was.

The next morning, he entered the kitchen, happily bouncing up and down around the large service table. “I have an idea; all my cakes will tell a story. For the girls, I will make Princess cakes with a pink cream, bows and ribbons. For the boys, cakes telling adventures or extraordinary stories. I’m leaving tomorrow to meet all the heroes living in the image box”.

He left the castle early that morning. He left Scotland and had to travel the world, taking advantage of his position as a king to meet all the characters that fill stories for children. He met Mickey Mouse, spent one day with Spiderman. Barbie Doll welcomed him with great consideration, Dora the explorer as well, and he even had dinner at Winnie the Pooh’s himself!

He has kept secret the details of these encounters since his return. But by the look of his smile, what fabulous moments he must have had. The grim castle has been repainted with light colours; the kitchen has been transformed into a giant patisserie. Dozens of kitchen boys bustle about Miss Greedies. Each one of them has a mission: one tops the cakes with the pink cream, while another is in charge of the chocolate. The others ensure that the decorations are perfectly laid out. Then the most skilful wrap up each delicious dish in its crystal bubble. In the castle’s vast cellars, Sire Toogood’s little brewers transform a delicious apple juice into a bubbling and royal beverage: Party Fizz. “Because there is no party without bubbles, each cake will be accompanied with its royal beverage!” said the little King.

And for everyday’s small parties, Toogood asked Miss Amelia Greedies to make small individual bars. After all, a good grade or a nice smile also deserves to be celebrated!

In the starry sky, the kingdom’s fastest messengers leave each night to deliver all those kingly delicacies to hundreds of stores which, everywhere in Europe, wait for Toogood’s cakes, without which, for thousands of kids like you, parties and birthdays would be horribly boring!